Long-gan

Manong fruit vendor came today. Odd. I only see him during holidays when he brings in crates of apples and oranges to complete the traditional 12 round fruits on the 12 days of Christmas to complete 12 years of happiness for the coming year. Or something like that. As I approached, he said, "Sorry ma'am wala po akong long-gan ngayon." He said he remembered that last December my family were his best long-gan customers, saying "Kayo nga lang po ang pumapakyaw sa long-gan ko noon". Apparently, my favorite fruit in the world has but a few fans.

I love fruits with a passion. I could probably survive on just fruits all day. Fruits are expensive in Manila (where I live for most days of the week) so whenever I'm at home in Marikina I try to amass as many fruits from our counters as I can. I can down a kilo of grapes in 30 minutes and still be game for more. Give me a fruit and I will eat it. And my favorite fruit is the long-gan or longan.

Here is what it looks like (grabbed from wikipedia):

According to Wikipedia, the word longan literally translates to "dragon eye". It is named so because when the fruit is shelled, it looks like an eyeball (photo from thailanfruitsandfood.blogspot.com):

Not a very appetizing notion, I know. But when you taste it, you'll understand why it's such a favorite in a number of Asian cuisines (Thai, Vietnamese, etc). It's sweet but not overpowering. The flesh is soft, not tough and very, very juicy. It's not sticky at all and it's very easy to eat, just crack open the soft skin with your thumb and forefinger and peel the soft gooey flesh from the seed using your teeth, yum!

I like the long-gan because it is easy to shell, unlike the lanzones or the rambutan, which sometimes take some effort. There's also only one fruit/seed per shell, unlike the lanzones (Don't you ever feel like you've been eating one lanzones for eternity?). I like too because it is uniquely Asian. It doesn't grow elsewhere and doesn't come in cans, unlike the lychee. I also like it, I must admit, because not many people know about it or eat it. I like the exclusivity  of it; I like that for most of my friends, the fruit I love most is an enigma. I like the mystery. Whenever I eat it, I feel like I'm in a secret club. 

But, the most important reason why the long-gan is my favorite fruit is because I only get to eat it when I'm at home, during the holidays. It's like my "Christmas fruit", like how castanas or apples are for other people. I can't remember a Christmas when we haven't had long-gan on the table. It was long-gan my father and I would eat while watching re-runs of the year's best movies on Chritsmas mornings. Long-gan is what we would eat while belting it out at the videoke machine. When long-gans are in season, I know that Christmas is just around the corner, together with all the warm and fuzzy feelings that season brings. 

So when Manong fruit vendor was ready to leave,  I told him "Manong, basta next time dalhan mo ako ng long-gan ha, lalo na sa Pasko." He told me "Sigurado yun ma'am, 'di ko makakalimutan."

I'll hold you to it Manong, I'll hold you to it.